Tag Archives: coronavirus

The Washington Post reports: Facebook announced Friday that it would cancel a summit it had planned to hold at San Francisco’s Moscone Center in March. “Out of an abundance of caution, we canceled our Global Marketing Summit due to evolving public health risks related to coronavirus,” Anthony Harrison, a Facebook spokesman, said. The annual event brings together Facebook employees from …

The Military Times reports: U.S. Northern Command is executing plans to prepare for a potential pandemic of the novel coronavirus, now called COVID19, according to Navy and Marine Corps service-wide messages issued this week. An executive order issued by the Joint Staff and approved by Defense Secretary Mark Esper this month directed Northern Command and geographic combatant commanders to initiate …

NBC News reports: China’s Hubei province, the center of the coronavirus outbreak, reported a stark rise in the number of new cases Thursday, dashing hopes that the epidemic may have been slowing down. Health officials in Hubei reported 14,840 new cases, most of them in Wuhan. The province also said another 242 people had died from the coronavirus Wednesday, bringing …

NBC News reports: The new coronavirus that’s sickened more than 42,000 people in China now has an official name: COVID-19. It stands for the coronavirus disease that was discovered in 2019. The World Health Organization announced the name Tuesday, saying it was careful to find a name without stigma. “We had to find a name that did not refer to …

Bloomberg News reports: The 2,257 passengers and crew onboard the Westerdam luxury liner are in limbo once again after Thailand became the latest country to turn the ship away from its ports, leaving guests desperate to disembark after almost two weeks at sea. Fearing that some passengers aboard the Westerdam may be infected with the deadly new coronavirus, Thailand’s Public …

The Washington Post reports: Eleven Americans are among 66 additional people on board the Diamond Princess who have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the cruise ship operator said Monday. The latest results bring to 136 the number of passengers and crew who have tested positive for the virus, not including a former passenger from Hong Kong who is thought …

The New York Times reports: The Chinese government has announced a temporary name for the illness caused by the coronavirus, ordering the local authorities and state news media to adopt it. In English, it will be called NCP, for novel coronavirus pneumonia, the National Health Commission said on Saturday. The naming of viral illnesses is a complicated matter that involves …

CBS News reports: Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai rebuked claims about the origins of the coronavirus, calling any theories it is linked to biological weapons research “absolutely crazy” and warning such allegations could stir up racial discrimination and xenophobia. Cui was responding to an assertion from Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas, who tweeted that Wuhan, the …

Reuters reports: Royal Caribbean Cruises issued a statement on Friday saying: “Any guest or crewmen traveling from, to, or through mainland China, Hong Kong or Macau less than 15 days prior to their sailing will be unable to board any of our ships.” But it did not stop there. It also said, “Any guests holding a Chinese, Hong Kong or …

CNN reports: The Diamond Princess cruise ship has been quarantined off the coast of Yokohama, near Tokyo, since Tuesday, after a former passenger tested positive for the coronavirus. There are more than 3,700 people on board, including 2,600 passengers, of whom 428 are American. So far, 61 passengers have tested positive for the virus, and the quarantine is expected to …

CBS News reports: The financial website Zero Hedge is now barred from Twitter after publishing an article relaying a conspiracy theory that a Chinese scientist might be to blame for the coronavirus outbreak. Zero Hedge on Friday wrote that Twitter had notified the site that it had violated the social media platform’s “rules against abuse and harassment.” That followed a …

The New York Times reports: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services notified Congress on Sunday it may need to transfer up to $136 million to help combat the fast-moving coronavirus epidemic, a new sign of how the White House has increased its response in recent days. The notification came as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is …

The Catholic News Service reports: In an email to Catholic News Service Feb. 3, the Vatican press office confirmed a report that appeared in the Chinese newspaper The Global Times, which said that since Jan. 27, the Vatican has sent 600,000-700,000 protective masks to China. “The masks are destined to the provinces of Hubei, Zhejiang and Fujian,” the press office …

The New York Post reports: The Chinese government on Monday accused the US of spreading “panic” over the coronavirus outbreak by pulling its citizens out of the country and restricting travel instead of offering significant assistance. The US was the first country to begin evacuations, issued a travel warning against going to China, and from Sunday barred entry to foreigners …

The New York Post reports: Chinese authorities are taking coronavirus surveillance to new heights — using drones to scold citizens who go outside without face masks. “Yes, auntie, this is the drone speaking to you. You shouldn’t walk about without wearing a mask,” says the caption of a video posted Friday on Twitter by the Global Times, the English-language newspaper …

The Associated Press reports: China’s death toll from a new virus rose to 259 on Saturday and a World Health Organization official said other governments need to prepare for “domestic outbreak control” if the disease spreads in their countries. The number of confirmed cases in China rose to 11,791, surpassing the number in the 2002-03 outbreak of SARS, or Severe …

The Associated Press reports: Delta Air Lines and American Airlines said Friday they will suspend all flights between the U.S. and China, making them the first U.S.-based airlines to do so and joining several international carriers that have stopped flying to China as the coronavirus outbreak continues to spread. United Airlines announced that it will suspend flights to Beijing, Shanghai …

Reuters reports: The United States warned Americans not to travel to China as the death toll from a new virus reached 213 on Friday and the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global health emergency, and Britain confirmed its first two cases. “Do not travel to China due to novel coronavirus first identified in Wuhan,” the U.S. State Department said …

Axios reports: An American Airlines pilots’ union sued the company on Thursday to temporarily halt all flights between the U.S. and China, the Financial Times reports, citing “serious” health threats from the coronavirus. What they’re saying: “We estimate that as many as 300 passengers and crew travel to DFW alone from Chinese cities on each American Airlines flight,” said Eric …

CNBC reports: The World Health Organization said the fast-spreading coronavirus that’s infected more than 8,200 across the world is a global health emergency — a rare designation that helps the international agency mobilize financial and political support to contain the outbreak. The announcement comes just hours after the U.S. confirmed its first human-to-human transmission of the virus, which has killed …